Classical Music

SAINT-SAËNS Allegro after the Third Concerto. Suite, op. 90. Allegro appassionato, op. 70. Thème varié, op. 97. 6 Fugues, op. 161 • Geoffrey Burleson (pn) • GRAND PIANO 605 (53:38)


The piano works of Saint-Saëns are some of the forgotten gems in the pianist’s possible repertoire. Being that the composer was one of the finest pianists in the second half of the 19th century, not only is the music well written for the instrument, it is, at its best, some of the composer’s most finessed and engaging. The current program features pieces written throughout the composer’s career, from the virtuosic transcription of the concerto movement and the Thème varié —both written for piano contests—to the more lighthearted and neoclassical suite. In general, Saint-Saëns’s music necessitates a virtuosic technique; he requires the pianist to maintain lucid textures, careful pedaling, sparkling passagework, and meticulous attention to articulation. In general, Geoffrey Burleson does an admirable job handling all of the many inherent difficulties of this music—just a quick glance at the theme and variations is enough to scare most pianists. What feels right about this program, moreover, is that the pieces are arranged in a way that makes one feel that one is listening to a recital, rather than just a second installment of the complete piano works of this composer. (This volume is just that. The first in the series was reviewed by Lynn René Bayley in Fanfare 35:6.)


The hyper-virtuosic Allegro, op. 29, opens the program. Though Burleson becomes a bit too heavy in some instances and dry in others (a little more pedal here and there might have helped in bringing out details of shifted orchestration on the piano) one can hardly complain about such a fine reading otherwise. The suite, while lighter in mood, contains some very fine moments, from the improvisatory-sounding Prelude to the lively and bouncy Gavotte. Burleson obviously relishes this little masterpiece. The real stars of this program for me, however, are the Thème varié and the fugues. Burleson does a fine job of maintaining a feeling of pulse throughout the entire op. 97, from the simple chorale theme to the more complex figuration in the variations—double notes, arpeggios, octaves, leaps, and the like! The pianist (who is also the author of some fine booklet notes) describes the Six Fugues, op. 161, as “a suite of dynamic character pieces.” I couldn’t agree more. Though one can play them as simple academic etudes, whether studies in composition or instrumental technique, Burleson shows them to be true musical masterpieces, from the quasi-prelude first, through the sprightly and lively third, to the longest and climactic final one. Indeed, performing them as a set just makes sense here. And with performances of these fugues as engaging as the music itself, one can only hope that this release may spur more pianists to play this music. As there is little competition in this repertoire, I am surely glad to add such a fine release to my collection. If you do not know this music, go out and grab this recording. Saint-Saëns is not one to disappoint.


FANFARE: Scott Noriega

Although he is best remembered for his orchestral and instrumental music, Saint-Saens was also responsible for spearheading the revival of the French Baroque, especially the music of Lully and Rameau, as well as being perfectly placed to absorb the latest instrumental dance music. His five "character waltzes" include the ethereal and ravishingly textured Valse mignonne, the stylistically forward-looking Valse nonchalante and the virtuosic Valse gaie, the composer's final waltz for solo piano, while the three minor key Mazurkas are strongly characterized and filled with ingenious musical contrasts. Last but not least, the three "souvenirs" are delightful evocations of particular corners of the world that inspired Saint-Saens.

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Humor in music is the theme of this album by the 25-year-old pianist Hanna Bachmann from Austria, who plans debuts in the Berlin Philharmonic and concerts in the UK and US next season, and whom the conductor Kirill Petrenko attested “great musicality, creativity, high technical ability, fine sound and a matured personality”. The spectrum of variety of this program spans from the childlike cheerfulness of Mozart (Variations on “A Woman is the Most Delightful Thing” K. 613) to the profound wit and deliberate irony of Beethoven (“Diabelli Variations” Op. 120) to the pungent laughter of Prokofiev (“Sarcasm” Op. 17).

Paul Badura-Skoda, piano, Wolfgang Schneiderhan, violin and Boris Pergamenschikow, violoncello are among the most important musicians of the second half of the 20th century. A testimony to their rare collaboration can be found in this hitherto unpublished recording, which presents the three exceptional artists with the piano trios by Franz Schubert. The Trio No. 1 in B-flat major, op. 99, D 898 is a studio recording from the Grand Hall of the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation in Vienna from 1984, the second trio in E-flat major, op. 100, D 929 was made during the Salzburg Festival in 1981 as a concert recording. These recordings provide a stunning experiencing of the superb individual class as well as chamber musical abilities of three of the greatest musicians of musical history.

The piano and chamber works on this recording span 45 years of Boris Tchaikovsky's career, ranging from the delightful pieces composed by the precocious ten year old to the Etude in E Major of 1980. They include the Sonata for 2 Pianos with its mosaic approach to composition and its expressive exploration of the inner soul, and the beautifully crafted Violin Sonata of 1959. The solo piano miniatures reveal a spare texture that highlights the instrument's elemental beauty.

Glinka wrote a series of delightful polkas, mazurkas, gallops and waltzes that were predominantly intended for fashionable drawing rooms and salons. He also wrote more substantial pieces such as the Grande Valse in G major and the Polonaise in E major which were initially scored for orchestra. Some pieces were also based on pre-existing melodies such as the Variations on a theme of Mozart, which is inspired by a melody drawn from Die Zauberflote and the attractive Tarantella in A minor, a rhythmic adaptation of the Russian folk song ‘In the field there stood a birch tree.’ Inga Fiolia, the Georgian-German pianist, is quickly establishing herself as one of her generation’s most exciting and gifted young concert soloists. Winning first prize at several international piano competitions in Germany, Belgium, and Italy, Inga has also received awards from Piano News, Germany’s leading piano magazine, the Solti Foundation, the German Academic Foundation for Musical Life, and Yehudi Menuhin Live Music Now. “Inga Fiolia’s interpretations are powerfully organic, there is no trace of artificiality about the way she concentrates and engages with the work.” (Parisian le petit concertoirleiste)

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These selections were originally recorded on the Duo-Art Reproducing Piano between 1916 and 1926.

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His love for the works of Schubert led Ammiel Bushakevitz to the Art Song. He received mentorship in this field from notable singers including the late Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Thomas Quasthoff, Elly Ameling, Thomas Hampson, Matthias Goerne, Teresa Berganza and Brigitte Fassbaender. Born in Jerusalem, Israel and raised in South Africa, Ammiel Bushakevitz developed a special affinity for the music of Franz Schubert from an early age. He is a laureate of the International Franz Schubert Competition Dortmund and is a recipient of the International Schubert Institute Award in Vienna. Ammiel Bushkavitz performs regularly at notable venues across Europe, North America, Africa and Asia. Festival appearances include the festivals of Salzburg, Lucerne and Bayreuth, the Festival d'automne a Paris, the Festival Pontino di Latina in Italy, the Jerusalem Schubertiade, the Vancouver Chamber Music Series and the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence.

This compilation features compositions, studies and fragments in various arrangements and at various levels of development, pieces that not only represent Bruckner’s course of study but also anticipate his future impact as a symphonist and reformer of musical idiom. So, just as a few pencil strokes outlining the architectural design of a magnificent building may give a more vivid impression than the final realisation of the design, the compositions from the study book may seem more vivid to us than the great symphony. They are a world unto themselves. Bruckner’s piano works (the compositions and sketches from the study book and the published works) occupy, at best, a marginal position in the eyes of the concert world, performers, listeners and organisers. Their rich substance is yet to be duly acknowledged, for these small-scale works are the fascinating building-blocks of great music. The school with which the composer allied himself through his study with connoisseurs of revolutionary musical initiatives (notably Otto Kitzler) has here been embraced by the genius to full effect.

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Chopin: Works for Piano

Brahms: Symphony No. 1, Variations on a Theme by Haydn & 5 H

This release, seeing the light of day for the first time in this mid-priced series (the actual recording date isn't given), contains a selection of music from Grieg's Peer Gynt culled by Temirkanov from the complete score. You get all of the music from the two suites, plus such rarely heard numbers as Peer Gynt and the Woman in Green, Peer Gynt at the Statue of Memnon, the Whitsun Hymn (with chorus), and The Dance of the Mountain King's Daughter. The performances are very persuasive, with Termirkanov adopting some unusually expansive tempos (in Morning Mood) but also not stinting on the excitement (Peer Gynt's Homecoming and In the Hall of the Mountain King). The chorus sings very well and makes some effort to characterize its part, while Inger Dam-Jensen is something of a Solveig specialist. She sounds lovely.


Making this release even more attractive, Temirkanov includes lively and colorful performances of the four Norwegian Dances Op. 35, in the rarely heard contemporary orchestration by Danish composer Robert Henriques (Hans Sitt's are more commonly chosen). Per Dreier also used this edition in his pioneering recording of the complete Peer Gynt, but of course only included the first three, which found their way into subsequent productions. Having the complete set here is entirely apt and welcome. Johan Halvorsen's orchestration of the Bridal Procession from the piano solo Scenes from Country Life Op. 19 (No. 2) also partakes of the same spirit, making this disc an enjoyable and in some ways unique proposition. The sound also is very good, perhaps a touch studio-bound, but easy on the ear and well-suited to the music. No texts or translations are included--a cheap move, but one that does not detract from the disc's purely musical appeal. [6/28/2005]
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

Columbia Symphony Orchestra/Bruno Walter. Sony Classical SMK 64460 [Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2, with Coriolan Overture]; 64461 [Nos. 3 (Eroica) and 8]; 64462 [Nos. 4 and 6 (Pastorale)]; 64463 [Nos. 5 and 7]; and 64464 [No. 9]

Walter recorded the Beethoven symphonies in stereo for Columbia in 1958-59, taping No. 9 in New York and Nos. 1-8 in Los Angeles with orchestras of freelance and studio musicians who rose magnificently to the occasion. Walter was in his eighties, but that didn’t stop him from grabbing these works by the throat; there is no mincing around, no effusive lingering over phrases, no ponderous trudging either. The even-numbered symphonies are sunny and outgoing, full of the warmth the conductor exuded during his Indian-summer years in the studio. Yet the drama of the odd-numbered works is not slighted. Walter’s account of the Fifth, for example, is an intensely expressive one in which lyricism and thrust are in perfect balance, an evocation of stormy Romanticism at its best. The recordings have held up extremely well; the sound on these 20-bit CDs is spacious yet detailed, with amazing presence and solidity. – Ted Libbey, author of The NPR Guide to Building a Classical CD Collection, reviewing Bruno Walter's recordings of Beethoven's Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2, with Coriolan Overture]; 64461 [Nos. 3 (Eroica) and 8]; 64462 [Nos. 4 and 6 (Pastorale)]; 64463 [Nos. 5 - reissued as Sony 93012, and 7]; and 64464 [No. 9].

George Szell wasn't known for his Tchaikovsky, and he didn't record all that much of him. There's a very good Fourth Symphony on Decca (with the LSO), and of course he played the major concertos when necessary, but this release constitutes his outstanding contribution to the Russian composer's discography. There's certainly value in scarcity, for this Fifth Symphony is one of the great ones: magnificently played (of course), urgent and dynamic in the first movement, passionate but always flowing in the second, elegant in the waltz, and triumphant but never needlessly bombastic in the finale. Listeners who view Szell as a "strictly by the score" interpreter, largely on account of his treatment of tempo, will be surprised to hear an added cymbal crash in the finale's coda. It's all good, clean fun.


The same holds true for the Capriccio, a bubbly performance given additional brilliance thanks to Szell's willingness to let the trumpets strut their stuff (also true in the symphony) and to the orchestra's hair-trigger rhythmic precision. Szell may not have let his hair down often, but there's a difference between discipline and inhibition. His best performances, as here, offer plenty of the former with no trace of the latter. The sonics show their age in a high level of hiss and a certain want of timbral richness, but better this than a remastering that chops off the treble and robs the music of its natural brilliance. That, thank God, you can still hear in abundance. This is a release that Szell fans will surely want to acquire, assuming of course that you don't already own one of its prior incarnations.
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

This is a DSD (Direct Stream Digital) recording

This is a DSD (Direct Stream Digital) recording

This is a DSD (Direct Stream Digital) recording

There's no such thing as a "definitive" recording, but if there were, this one would come close to that imagined ideal. Its special qualities haven't dimmed a bit in the four decades since it was recorded, and every interpretive decision comes across with the inevitability of fate itself. First, you get the first-movement exposition repeat (very unusual for its time), then there's the very slow (but still very flowing) Largo, gorgeously played and far from the trudge-fest that Bernstein would make of it in his lousy later recording for DG. The scherzo goes like the wind, the fastest ever, and the finale offers simply the last word in excitement. If you don't own this performance in some form, then you don't know the "New World".

--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

This is a DSD (Direct Stream Digital) recording

This is a DSD (Direct Stream Digital) recording

Included in Capriccio’s introductory 4-CD set, Liszt: Orchestral Pieces, released in honor of his 200th year in 2011, besides the famous Hungarian Rhapsodies Nos. 1-6 and Les Préludes are also less-frequently played Lisztian orchestral works such as the Dante-Symphony and the symphonic poems Hungaria and Orpheus. A trio of fine orchestras – the Vienna Philharmonic among them—and conductors add considerable luster to an already lustrous offering.

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 - Capriccio Italien: Classic Lib

A monumental set of 33 variations built from a simple waltz theme by Anton Diabelli. A stunning performance of a legendary masterwork by one of the great pianists of our time. Pianist Gabriel Chodos has been a revered New England Conservatory faculty member for a quarter-century.

BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 6 / Choral Fantasy / BRAHMS: Double